He felt leagues better when he got up in the morning. He stuffed his face with a few of the cheap breakfast danishes as he hurried out of the motel, sliding back into his car and turning the key in the ignition. The engine roared to life as if it, too, were rejuvenated by the night's rest, or perhaps Link's mind was just more clear and focused after the good night's sleep.
Before his ambush on the Yiga Clan, he had planned on stopping at Kakariko to update Impa on his progress. But now that he knew, or better, remembered, what he did, he decided his best course of action was to shoot straight to Zora's Domain. If luck were on his side, he would be able to activate the Divine Beast there and shoot over to the Great Forest to reclaim the Master Sword before Dorian realized what he had done. Link was certain that as soon as Dorian and Impa found out about what he had done, they would be on him faster than a Goron on rock and would have his head hung on their wall. Hyrule would fall, Ganon would emerge triumphant, and a new age of darkness would dawn.
He drove faster than he had ever driven before, making his way north across Hyrule and towards Zora's Domain. With only a couple of Guardians to dodge on the interstate, he was able to make it to his destination in just a few hours, arriving just before noon. However, he was not met with eager arms as he had been in the other sectors of Hyrule. And he knew exactly why, now.
"How dare you show your face here," Muzu hissed as Link stepped out of the car.
"Back off, Muzu," Link muttered, shooting him a warning glare. He looked up to see Sidon approaching them, shouting to the elder Zora.
"Muzu, enough!" He reached Muzu's side and pulled his arm back before he could get his fins around Link's throat.
"It's his fault this all happened," Muzu barked. He thrust a fin at Link. "It's your fault Mipha's dead!"
Link had managed to control his temper for quite a while. To compare the last couple of weeks to a roller coaster ride would have been the understatement of the year. And with his latest ambush of memories, it was as if he had lived every moment of his life – the good and the bad – in that one moment, and he was worn thin from the abuse, emotionally, physically, mentally. He had had enough of it all, and he snapped.
"Maybe if you got your damn head out of your fucking ass for two seconds, you would see that I'm the only one doing anything to give this fucking place a fighting chance in this war." He spat at the ground. "You want to blame this all on me? Fine. But don't you dare tell me I'm the reason Mipha's dead."
Muzu grit his teeth together, his gaze hard on Link. "You are not welcome here, Hylian," he hissed. "The Zoras are no longer your allies."
"Well, actually, Muzu," Sidon interrupted. "My father is the one who makes that decision, and he hasn't agreed with your-"
Muzu spun around and glared at Sidon. The prince Zora's mouth snapped shut quickly. He hesitated before he spoke again.
"Link's the only one who can reclaim Vah Ruta. If we have any chance to survive this war, we need Vah Ruta, and we need Link." Sidon paused, his eyes sad. "Mipha believed in what she was doing," he said softly. "She fought for what she believed in, to keep an alliance with the Hylians. She knew what she was doing and she knew the risks involved. She fought protecting this country. You cannot put that blame on Link."
"She did it for him," he hissed.
Link had had enough. He wasn't about to listen the old bat any longer. He had a job to do and a country to save, apparently. It all came down to him.
"Get out of my way," he growled as he pushed passed Muzu and Sidon. He let his hand rest on the butt of his gun in an attempt to send a final message to Muzu.
He strode angrily through the city, ignoring the shuffling that was Sidon behind him to catch up with him. At one time, Link had admired the beauty that was Zora's Domain, but now, the memories only haunted him.
"Don't listen to Muzu," Sidon said as he reached Link's side. "You know how he gets."
Link looked up at the statue of Mipha that had been erected in her honor. It stood tall in the center of the city, just as elegant as she had been.
"Mipha -"
"Where's Vah Ruta?" Link asked sharply, but he didn't meet Sidon's gaze. He wasn't interested in talking about Mipha anymore. It simply hurt too much.
Sidon hesitated, then turned his gaze to waterfall at the other end of the city. He pointed in the direction with a fin. "Vah Ruta's at the reservoir," he said. "But ever since the attack, water has been shooting out of its trunk and threatening to break the damn and flood the city. We can't get close to it without it attacking us. The damn is a ticking bomb right now and it could break at any minute."
"Guess we don't have time to waste," Link said gruffly. "Can you bring me there?"
Sidon nodded. "I can do you one better," he said. "You can ride me across the lake."
"Swell," Link grunted. "I've always wanted to ride a giant Zora."
"Well, it's not like we have a need for boats," he said. "And unless you're a good swimmer that can dodge Vah Ruta's attacks, you'll need some help."
"Sounds like you already have a plan."
"I do," Sidon said proudly. "There's only one way aboard Vah Ruta, and that's by scaling the waterfalls around it. However, it deals heavy blasts of water from its trunk that could slow even a Zora. If you can cut off its water line, that should stop it from attacking and even prevent the reservoir from overfilling. I can then scale the waterfall with you and bring you on top of the Divine Beast."
"How do I cut the water line?"
"You'll see it right away," Sidon assured him. "There's a spot on its chest that glows red. It's large, but if you can shoot at it, that should be enough to break the line."
Link followed Sidon through the rest of the city and down the road leading away and through the mountains. The path climbed up and wound around towards the reservoir where Vah Ruta was stationed. When they neared the edge of the lake, Sidon dove into the water. He pointed towards the spot where the water line would need to be cut, and Link nodded.
"All aboard, then!" Sidon said.
Link hesitated, pulled his gun out of its holster, then climbed awkwardly onto Sidon's back. He clung to the Zora as he shot through the water at surprising speed and focused on keeping his balance so he could aim at the water line.
And just as Sidon had said, Vah Ruta began its assault as soon as it noticed them moving towards it. Its tinny, trumpeting roar bellowed through the air. It raised its trunk and a heavy blast of water shot towards them. Sidon avoided these blasts with ease as he navigated the waters, circling around the Divine Beast.
"We're coming up to it now," he shouted to Link. "As soon as you get a clear shot, take it out!"
Easier said than done on a speeding Zora. Link kept his gaze focused on the water line where Sidon had indicated, steadying himself as Sidon dodged the Divine Beast's attacks. He took aim, then fired off two rounds at the water line. He couldn't be entirely sure if he had hit its target; the glow to the water line remained and Vah Ruta continued to throw its watery blasts at them.
"It's tougher than it looks!" Sidon said as if it encourage Link. "You'll get it! We'll circle around again."
The process continued in this manner. Sidon sped through the water, dodging Vah Ruta's attacks with ease, and when the water line came into sight again, Link too aim and shot off two more rounds. This time, it seemed to be cracked, but it wasn't cut off yet.
By the third time around, Link shot off another pair of bullets, and this time, he see the water line crack and burst. Vah Ruta let out another trumpeting bellow and the water from its trunk ran dry. Its movements slowed as it settled into the water and Sidon changed direction, making his way to the waterfall before it, too, ran dry.
"Hang on!"
Link clung to the Zora as he zipped up the waterfall, shooting into the air and landing gracefully on his feet on top of the Divine Beast. Link slid off Sidon's back, reloading his weapon quickly as soon as he feet touched down.
"Looks like we're not alone up here," Sidon said to Link.
"Yeah," Link muttered, knowing exactly what he would see as soon as he looked up. "I expected as much."
The Waterblight, to Link's surprise, did not attack right away. Something about the phantom seemed different, as if it were already struggling before their fight even began. Its anguished shriek suggested that it something was wrong; it had been cut off from its power source, the water. Without the water, it could not rely on its attacks. It raised an arm in the air, but nothing happened, and its screams grew more fierce.
Realizing it would not be able to rely on its water based attacks, it resorted to using the laser attacks Link was all too familiar with from the Guardians. It locked on them quickly and Link threw himself against Sidon, pushing the Zora to the ground and narrowly dodging the attack. He scrambled to his feet and took aim, pulling the trigger three times at the blight. The bullets ripped through its flesh much like it had done to the other three blights before and it roared in agony.
The blight rushed at them then, a large sword in hand, and swung it at them. Once more, Link and Sidon dodged the attack, and Link spun around at the last moment to fire off two more rounds. The Waterblight was slower than the other three, and Link's shots hit it square in the back. It shrieked and prepared another laser attack, locking on to them, but Link pulled the trigger again and the bullet ripped through the phantom's head.
The Waterblight fell to the ground, its anguish screams fading away until they were just echoes around the mountains and the phantom lay still and lifeless.
"Well," Sidon said. "That was easy! Great job!"
Link rolled his eyes as he made his way to the control panel. He placed the Sheikah Slate on it and the final Divine Beast was activated.
"Thanks for the help," Link said as he moved back to Sidon, replacing his gun and the Sheikah Slate.
"You did all the work," Sidon said. "We owe you our thanks. Muzu included."
"I'll believe that when I see it," Link muttered. He turned his gaze to Sidon's. "I'm sorry. About Mipha."
Sidon smiled, but it was a sad smile. "Me too."